Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of audio/video network systems, and more specifically, to multiple focus environment.
Description of Related Art
Graphical User's Interface (GUI) provides a convenient method to allow users to interact with machines or computers. A GUI typically has graphical components with interface functionalities. These components may include windows, scroll bars, menus, buttons, icons, etc. A “key event” indicates that a keystroke occurred on an input device and needs to be delivered on a component of an application. In a focus based system all the key events that are not exclusively reserved by a single component are to be delivered to the focus owner. The focus owner is defined as the component of an application that will typically receive all these (non-exclusively reserved) key events. The focus manager is responsible for maintaining which component is identified as the focus owner and the transitions of focus to another component. In single focus environments at any given time, exactly one component owns focus.
In many applications, it is desirable to have multiple active focus owners simultaneously. Existing techniques are inadequate to provide this ability. To provide multiple focus owners capabilities, multiple separate single focus based devices have to be employed. For example, to provide two simultaneous modes of control for two television sets, two set-top boxes have to be employed, one for each television set. This method requires extra hardware, expensive, and lacks control flexibility.